Headlines about Gurgaon luxury tend to focus on record-priced apartments. For most buyers reading this, the more relevant question is what developers are building one tier below: homes between roughly ₹2 crore and ₹10 crore, where specification, community and delivery matter more than a label.

Two leaders have set out unusually clear positions on that tier. Amit Kumar Sinha, MD and CEO of Mahindra Lifespace Developers, has defined a premium-not-luxury strategy across cities including NCR, Bengaluru and Chennai. Sahil Vachani, Vice Chairman and MD of Max Estates, has built a Gurugram and Noida business around wellness-led design. We originally planned to cover Mahindra alone, but its recent NCR-specific commentary is thin, so we pair the two.

Amit Sinha's definition of premium (as of May 2025)

In remarks reported by The Realty Today in May 2025, Sinha said Mahindra Lifespaces would exit affordable housing by FY30 and focus on premium residential projects. The company defined premium as roughly ₹1–10 crore in Mumbai and NCR and ₹1–5 crore in Pune and Bengaluru. He compared the approach to the Mahindra group's automotive strategy, which favours premium SUVs rather than small cars or out-and-out luxury vehicles, and emphasised space utilisation, greenery, amenities, social infrastructure and competitive pricing.

That view is more than a year old, so we date it clearly. The company's 2026 numbers suggest it has followed through.

What Mahindra's 2026 numbers show

In its FY26 results release dated 28 April 2026, Mahindra Lifespaces reported residential pre-sales of ₹3,405 crore, up from ₹2,804 crore in FY25, gross development value additions of ₹18,060 crore, residential collections of ₹2,107 crore, and receipt of all planned occupation certificates for the year.

For the June 2026 quarter, a PTI report on 27 July 2026 put sales bookings at about ₹925 crore, more than double the ₹449 crore a year earlier, with 957 homes delivered. Sinha was quoted as saying the company had begun FY27 on a strong footing with robust pre-sales growth and healthy profitability.

One governance note for buyers: on 10 August 2026, Outlook Business reported that the Mahindra Group had named Sinha CEO of its Holidays and Lifespaces sector, a role he will take up once a new CEO is appointed at Mahindra Lifespaces. Strategy may evolve under new leadership, so treat the premium-band positioning as current policy rather than a permanent commitment.

Sahil Vachani and the wellness premium (as of April 2026)

Max Estates reported pre-sales of about ₹5,305 crore for FY26, broadly level with about ₹5,321 crore in FY25, with about ₹3,392 crore coming in the January–March 2026 quarter alone, according to the company's 6 April 2026 update as reported by Indian Retailer. Its Gurugram project Estate 361, launched in December 2025, contributed about ₹1,704 crore at an average realisation of about ₹22,000 per sq ft.

Vachani attributed the performance to the company's wellbeing-focused residential and workplace offerings. The company also reported net debt of about ₹174 crore at the end of March 2026.

For context, a realisation of about ₹22,000 per sq ft places Estate 361 above Knight Frank's reported H1 2026 Gurugram average of about ₹18,354 per sq ft, but far below the ultra-luxury rates reported at projects such as DLF's The Dahlias. It is a clear example of the upper-premium band that sits between mass-market and trophy homes.

Why these two strategies matter together

Both leaders are making the same underlying bet from different angles: that a large pool of well-off buyers wants better-designed, better-managed homes at prices below the trophy tier. Mahindra frames it as disciplined premium positioning; Max Estates frames it as a wellness and community premium. Neither is selling scarcity in the way a ₹100-crore launch does.

That difference matters for how value is created for owners. In the trophy tier, value rests heavily on location scarcity and the prestige of a handful of addresses. In the premium tier, value rests more on the everyday experience of living in the home: layouts, light and ventilation, open space, the quality of shared facilities and how well the community is run after handover. Those are things a buyer can inspect and compare, which makes the premium tier more forgiving of careful research and less dependent on market timing.

It also means the competition among developers is more visible to buyers. When several credible names target the same price band in the same city, launch pricing and payment plans tend to be more disciplined, and differences in specification become easier to spot.

What this means for buyers

  • The premium band is where comparison shopping pays. Several credible developers compete between ₹2 crore and ₹10 crore; collect carpet-area quotes from at least three before deciding.
  • ‘Wellness’ should be measurable. Ask for density (units per acre), open-space percentage, tree cover, air and water systems, and how amenities are funded after handover. If the claim cannot be quantified, discount it.
  • Occupation certificates are the real test. Mahindra's statement that it received all planned OCs in FY26 is the kind of fact buyers should seek from any developer: ask for OCs on the builder's last three completed projects.
  • Leadership changes are worth noting, not fearing. A CEO transition rarely affects projects already under construction, but it can change land and launch strategy. Judge the project on its RERA status and progress.
  • Bengaluru and Chennai buyers: Mahindra's stated premium band for Bengaluru (₹1–5 crore) sits where much of the city's end-user demand is. Compare its projects against Bengaluru-based developers on location and delivery record, not only brand.

How to compare premium projects across developers

In the ₹2–10 crore tier, buyers often end up choosing between a large national brand, a strong regional developer and a design-led specialist. A simple scorecard keeps that decision honest. Score each project on the all-in price per sq ft of carpet area, density and open space, the developer's completion record on similar projects, the quality of the location (commute, schools, healthcare, daily convenience), and expected running costs.

Weight the factors according to how you will use the home. An end-user family might put location and density first; a buyer planning to let the home might weight connectivity to office clusters and the likely rental pool more heavily. Brand and wellness claims belong in the scorecard too, but as one line among several, backed by evidence rather than marketing.

Visiting a developer's completed project, ideally one that has been occupied for a few years, is the most reliable way to test claims about build quality, landscaping and management. It also tells you how the community has actually turned out, which no brochure can.

Questions to ask in the premium tier

  • What is the carpet area, the loading, and the final all-in price including parking, club and preferential location charges?
  • How many units are on the plot and what is the open-space percentage?
  • What is the RERA completion date, and what does the latest quarterly progress report show?
  • What are the expected maintenance charges per sq ft, and what do they include?
  • Can I visit a completed and occupied project by the same developer in the same city?

Property Point's view

For most of our clients, the strategies Amit Sinha and Sahil Vachani describe are more relevant than record-breaking luxury launches. We like the premium tier for end-users because competition among good developers keeps pricing more honest. Our caution is with intangible premiums, wellness, design or brand, that are hard to verify; insist on measurable specifications before paying extra for them.

This article is for information only and is not investment advice; please take independent professional advice before any purchase.